King and Thief
by Methusilah
Summary: The story of how Locke, a lowly thief becomes acquainted with the King of Figaro
1. The Prisoner

Author's Note: I do not own any of the characters and other ideas that are owned by Squaresoft and blah blah blah… you guys know how it goes.

---A King and Thief---

"On your feet thief!" the jailer spat into the far cell. In what little light there was, a lone figure sat on the cold stone ground with his back towards the bars. "The king wants to speak to you."

"You can tell him to go to hell!" the prisoner snapped back.

"Well you can tell him yourself then, because he's right here." The jailer turned and then took a step back, allowing the monarch to step up to the prison bars. He was in his customary elegant and flowing robs, a far cry in comparison to the criminal he was addressing.

"Now now," the king began, "what's with all these vicious slurs and hostilities? It's more than unusual for a king like me to make an appearance down here at all let alone to seek out a specific criminal. You should consider yourself lucky."

"I would be most lucky if you would shut your mouth." The prisoner kept his back to the king, staring into the darkness. If it were not for the anger in his voice one might think the figure in the cell was dead.

The King laughed light-heartedly and turned to the jailer, "Ahh… an actual witty and intelligent one. This could prove to be most entertaining after all."

Finally the prisoner leapt from the floor and rushed to the jail bars, smashing into them with such force that the whole cell seemed to shake. "Is that all I am to you? Just some sort of cruel entertainment for what would normally be a dull evening?"

"Of course not," the king kept his free and easy composure. "I came down here for business, but unlike how the old sayings go, I like to take any opportunity I can to mix business with pleasure."

"I'm just a common petty criminal, what kind of business do you want from me?" The prisoner let the edge from his tone slip, not expecting this twist. "You don't even know who I am."

"Ahh… but Locke, I do… and that's why I have come down here to seek you out. As I have heard it, you are one of the world's most premier thieves."

Locke turned around again and starred back into the darkness, the anger creeping back into him. "Then you have the wrong guy because I'm not thief, I'm a treasure hunter!"

The king laughed again, "Call it what you will then, thieving, treasure hunting, it makes no difference to me. My offer's still on the table, but it was meant for Locke Cole and if I am not in his presence then I shall be taking myself off to hell as you had wished me earlier."

"Wait!" The prisoner turned around and looked back at the king, again the edge in his voice disappearing. "You haven't told me what this offer is."

"Glad that you've decided to listen." The king took a few paces back and forth near the cell, never getting out of Locke's vision. He spoke with a smile and a friendly demeanor as if the two had been long time buddies. "The offer is a simple barter agreement. You do something for me, and I let you out scott free with no record here to speak of."

"How do I know I can trust you on that? After all, it is your kingdom that has thrown me in jail."

"I think the better question would be how can I trust you? After all, you are a thief who has been thrown in my jail."

"I'm no thief! I'm a treasure hunter!" Locke gave the king a hard glance but couldn't shake off the easy and friendly posture of the monarch. "Fine then, your turn to entertain me. How can you trust me, a lowly criminal?"

"Because the way I've heard it, the Locke Cole I know is the world's finest treasure hunter with a heart of gold. Not exactly the qualification for being a lowly criminal. Do you know how hated you have become down here in my prison of thieves for beating them time and time again to the world's greatest treasures, all while you were thinking of everyone else but yourself? The stories I've heard about you! There was the one about the cave near Zozo, there's the story about the Tzen Ruby of course… oh! and the latest one about a little incident involving one of the richest men in Jidoor."

For the first time, Locke finally cracked and gave a smile with a laugh, "Yeah… that was a good one. That old man probably still doesn't know what happened."

"Jailer, open the esteemed Mr. Cole's cell. Get him some proper food and clean him up before you send him to my chambers. We have some business to discuss."


	2. The Mission

"Your highness, Locke Cole is here to see you."

"Ah yes! Send him in Chancellor, right away!"

Locke entered into the chambers, wearing similarly tattered clothes as he had in the prison with the same dirty blue bandana wrapped around his forehead. Although he didn't give off the look of a poor man, just a man of adventure and the outdoors. Locke made his way before the king and bent down to one knee.

"Please man, get up!" the king laughed again and couldn't help but look away. "I can't stand it when people do that to me. No need for these disgusting formalities."

"Sorry your highness. My grandma always told me to kneel if I were ever in the presence of a king. I highly doubted she'd ever expect me to meet one in this situation."

"Your grandmother sounds like a very wise woman, but I personally am sick of being oppressively proper. So no more kneeling, or bowing or what have you. And please, call me Edgar, you can forget all the 'your highness' stuff."

"Fine Edgar, however you want it," Locke stood up, feeling much more comfortable speaking to the king this way than their previous encounter at the prison. "Now what is this job I am to be doing for you?"

"Locke, I'll be straightforward with you. There were some very valuable papers stolen from our kingdom not too long ago and I need you to get them back for me. We have reason to believe that they are being stored away by a man in South Figaro. These papers are very important to Figaro's safety and security."

"That's it?" Locke looked a little questioningly. "You are solid allies with the Empire, why don't you just get them to help you out? I'm sure between your combined armies you could stop one little man."

"See, that's the wrinkle…" Edgar stroked his chin, but still had that happy aura around him, "Figaro really can't be tied into this. First of all, we'd like to keep this whole matter of the lost papers under wraps. Second of all, the Empire and Figaro are allies but we are two separate nations. I can't just call the Emperor at any time and borrow a score of soldiers. And third, I don't want military action in this endeavor at all. I want this kept secret, and I don't want Figaro implemented in this in any way."

Locke gave a laugh, understanding the urgency for this mission, even if he still didn't think all the pieces added up. But what difference does it make? Empire, Figaro, secret papers, he wasn't involved in any of it. One little mission and he would be free again. "If these papers are so valuable, how do you know I won't sneak a peek at them? Or try and find a bidder for the information I'll then have? I could bring your whole kingdom down depending on what these papers are."

Edgar burst out laughing, holding his side with the friendliest smile Locke had ever seen. "I told you before, I've heard the stories about you Locke Cole. You may be the world's premier treasure hunter, but I've also heard about your good deeds to the people back home in Kohlingen, as well as that baby you saved who got lost in the Narshe mines. You wouldn't even take their reward money! Why would I have any reason to believe you would sell these secrets for your own profit? That's not the man you are."

"I'm not entirely the man who I once was," Locke half mumbled under his breath.

"But you are still a good man who will do what is right. I can see it in your eyes. You're a man just like me." Edgar smiled again. "We'll see fit to it that you are well stocked and equipped with anything you need for your mission. We can talk more about your amazing career when you return. Best of luck to you Locke."

----------

It was four days later when King Edgar was interrupted by the Chancellor again. "Your highness, Locke Cole has returned."

"Ah yes! Send him in, send him in right away!" Edgar looked at a tailor who was measuring out the king's arms and taking down notes. "Please, I need to speak to our esteemed Mr. Cole alone. Come back later and we'll finish this."

"Yes sir," the tailor nodded on his way out as Locke made his way in. With all honor and grace he made his way before the king and kneeled.

"Your highness!"

"Oh Locke, stand up for goodness sakes! Jeez!" Edgar looked down at him like a scolding mother. Locke couldn't help but laugh. "How was your little vacation? Did everything go according to plan?"

Locke stood up, reached into a small pouch he had around his shoulders and pulled out a roll of papers neatly tied up with the seal of Figaro on them. "Smooth and easy. Just like the old man at Jidoor you enjoyed so much, our friend in South Figaro probably doesn't even know these are missing let alone who took them."

"Excellent!" Edgar shouted in excitement taking the papers. "Chancellor, please deposit these in a safe location."

"Will do sir," the Chancellor took hold of the rolled papers with a nod. "Also, the tailor said he had another appointment come up and will return to finish early tomorrow morning instead."

"Tailor?" Locke looked the king with a mocking grin. "What happened? Did you accidentally ruin one of your best cloaks during a tea-time disaster?"

"I'll have you know Mr. Cole that one of the Empire's brightest young minds is coming to pay me a visit in the coming few days, and to celebrate his presence we are having a royal ball in his honor. I need to be looking my most dashing for there shall be plenty of the finest ladies in all the desert attending."

This time it was Locke who began laughing so hard he had to hold his sides. "Finest ladies? So the stories about the womanizer of Figaro that I've heard are as true as the one's you've heard about me?"

"Womanizer? Bah!" Edgar turned in disagreement, "I am nothing of the kind. It is not my fault that a man like myself is so irresistible to the women of the world."

Locke just kept on laughing. "Makes me kind of disappointed that I won't be around to watch this spectacle you are creating."

"Spectacle? I'll show you a spectacle!" Edgar looked to the Chancellor, "Do tell the tailor that tomorrow morning will be fine, and that I'll have another client for him who needs to be measured as well. One can't go to a royal ball in rags!"

"Yes sir," the Chancellor laughed, saluting with one hand while holding on to the papers in the other.


	3. The Ball

The main hall of Figaro Castle was all decorated out in elaborate banners and candles, giving off the massive room all the elegance one would expect with a royal ball. Flags bearing the arms of Figaro stood side by side with red flags bearing the image of the Empire. Edgar made his way back to the head table, pulling out his chair and sitting while looking out over the proceedings. Locke couldn't help but laugh at the king sitting next to him. "So she didn't fall for your awful come on's either did she?"

"I'll have you know that they are not come on's but rather womanly charms. And it's not a question of her falling for them, it's more that I believe being in the presence of someone as stunning as myself was too much for her to bear," Edgar spoke with a touch of extra vanity looking to his friend.

"And the previous four girls of the evening? They were also over come by your stunningness?"

"But of course!" Edgar shot back. Locke laughed again when a young man in the highest dress of the Empire came to the table and saluted King Edgar. "A good evening to you Colonel Leo."

"A good evening to you as well your highness."

"Please Colonel, Edgar will be fine," the king chuckled lightly, enjoying the evening while trying to remain somewhat dignified. "Besides which, it should be I giving you all the pleasantries. It is you who are the man of honor at our fine ball this evening. I am simply the willing host for one of the brightest and most highly touted soldiers of the Empire."

"You speak too highly of me," Leo gave a laugh himself, "I have not yet achieved that status."

"Although I have no doubt that you will," Edgar gave his trademark grin again. "Colonel Leo, I would like you to meet a dear friend of mine, Mr. Locke Cole."

"It's an honor to meet such a high ranking man as yourself," Locke nodded offering Leo his hand.

"Please, the honor is all mine," Leo answered shaking Locke's hand firmly.

Suddenly gasps and cries came from the far reaches of the hall where a crowd had gathered watching one of Leo's soldiers fall to the ground clutching his stomach. Another one near by held his hands to his knees looking extremely pale. He then stood up and covered his mouth, running out the door.

Leo blushed with embarrassment at his own troops. "My goodness! I apologize for their actions!"

Edgar laughed and slapped Leo on the back gently, "No need to worry my good Colonel. I'd like to think the Vector and Figaro are good enough allies that a few sick privates won't ruin our relationship. Besides which, we're out here in the desert. They're probably not used to it and got sun poisoning which is just effecting them now. Happens all the time, nothing to worry about."

"Well I better go check on them. I shall speak to you again soon," Leo gave a nod to Edgar and then one to Locke as well before taking his leave.

"Some gala you're throwing his Edgar," Locke joked again watching Leo check on his soldiers, most of whom seemed to be suffering from the same results.

"Yes well, some people just can't handle the enjoyment of another fantastic Figaro ball."

"I never thought a pauper like me would find myself in these royal looking threads attending a king's gala," Locke took a drink from a glass in front of him. "If only my grandma and the boys back home could see me now."

Edgar kept his eyes out at the party in full swing. "I take it that's where you're heading off to next? Back home to Kohlingen? You are a free man. I'm kind of surprised you even stayed for this night."

"Miss out on a once in a life time chance to attend a royal ball?" Locke laughed but followed it up with a sigh, allowing himself to slip into a moment of melancholy. "There really isn't much of a home for me in Kohlingen anyways. Just me traveling the world at my leisure."

"That must get terribly lonely," Edgar spoke turning to his friend this time, catching the change in his tone.

"On certain days."

"Well it could be worse," Edgar laughed trying to lighten up the mood. "You

could be a king, having to always be stuck in your stone castle, always having to be proper and classed. I can't tell you how much I envy the life you lead Locke, being able to travel where ever you want, whenever you want. But alas, that is not the life I was given by fate, so I am here at my place as king of Figaro enjoying the stories I hear from thieves about the world's premier treasure hunter."

"I'm sure they don't speak highly of me since most of the times I'm their competition," Locke laughed, brightening up a little.

"Oh I take that into account when I hear their stories. Thieves are not to be trusted."

"And yet you trusted me when I was one of them in your prison."

Edgar laughed looking back out over the hall, "Locke, you stole some harmless fruit from a produce stand. These thieves rob people blind and have no trouble in killing anyone in their way. Besides which, you aren't a thief, you're a treasure hunter."

"Then I don't know how much longer I can stay here in Figaro Edgar. You have been a wonderful host for me, but I can't keep my reputation up as the best if I am doing nothing but laying idly at royal parties."

"That's your decision then. Like I said, according to the law of Figaro you are a free man, and to be honest I hope that you return to visit our fine kingdom. Its doors are always open to you. I'll be waiting anxiously for the next story of your adventure."

Locke laughed, "You think I would miss the another grand party? I fully expect to be attending the next one, when ever it is."

"Your invitation is already in the mail my friend."


	4. The Massacre

"EDGAR!" Locke barged through the doors of Figaro, racing towards the throne room a man possessed. His face was red with rage, a demeanor that no one had ever seen from the treasure hunter before.

"Mr. Locke!" the Chancellor came racing after him. "What seems to be the matter? I understand you are upset at something, but you can't just storm through here making all this kind of ruckus. What is the trouble and I'll go address it to his highness."

"No! I want to see him now! Edgar where are you!" Locke started to pound on the doors to the throne room.

Suddenly the doors flew open and Edgar looked to his friend, "Locke! It's been some time since your last visit! Please do come in, what treasures have you been tracking down this time? Do you need to use the Figaro library for research again?"

"I'll tell you about a treasure I've lost you butt kissing slug!"

"Mr. Cole!" The Chancellor tried to intervene but Edgar raised his hand to hold him off.

"Locke, what is the meaning of all this? I have never seen you like this before."

"She's dead! They're all dead! And for what reason! They killed them! They killed her!"

"Whose dead? Who is this you speak of? I haven't killed anyone, why the anger towards me?" Edgar tried to speak flatly but easily to try and calm his friend down.

"Kohlingen! The Empire marched in there and just started firing!" Locke's face seemed to get even angrier, if that was possible, with the mention of the attack. "Your allies marched into a peaceful quiet village and spilled the blood of countless innocent victims!"

"What!" Edgar gasped.

"They claimed they were looking for a criminal to the Empire, but instead turned the place into a massacre! Edgar… they killed Rachel!"

"Rachel?" Edgar, as shocked as he was at the atrocious news Locke had brought to him, he looked questioningly to his friend. In the better part of the past few months he had known Locke, he had never mentioned anyone named Rachel. Not during his stay at the castle, not even in any of the letters he would send back to the king from his journeys.

"My… my…" Locke tried to get the words out but he couldn't. Right then and there his anger broke and turned into sobs. He fell to the floor in a heap of tears unable to hold his emotions back. "You don't understand Edgar! The last words she said before she passed out was that she loved me! My Rachel! She finally came back to me and I wasn't there to protect her or even to hear those sweet words that over the past year I never thought I'd ever hear again."

Edgar kneeled down and touched his friend head, letting him know that he is not alone. "And Rachel died in the attack?"

Locke sniffled and took in a deep breath, looking up at the king while trying to hold back more tears. "No, she hasn't officially passed on yet but it's only a matter of time. I heard of the attacks and even heard that Rachel and her family were some of the victims. By the time I raced back to Kohlingen, she was already in terrible shape. She had blacked out, and with the beating she took and the amount of blood she's lost, the doctor's won't be able to save her. I couldn't stand being there anymore so I left for here." Again he failed to keep his tears in check as they started to pour down the broken man's face again. "Oh Edgar, it's the more gruesome place you will ever see. How can you ever support an evil like the Empire after you witness what I have seen. Rachel could never hurt anyone. She was an angel among us…" Locke tried to say more but he choked on more tears before he could get it out.

"Chancellor!" Edgar stood up with his powerful royal voice filling the castle, "take the herbalist with you and two score of troops to Kohlingen. I want a full investigation into this matter immediately!"

"Yes sir!" The Chancellor saluted, "but sir… the herbalist? You mean that old lunatic! Wouldn't you rather send a real doctor instead of some crazy man and his wacko plants?"

"Take as many doctors as we can spare, but take the herbalist with you! I have a special task for him, and hurry before time runs out."

"Yes sir!" The Chancellor turned and raced out of the throne room. Edgar again knelt down next to Locke who was too over come by his emotions to even hear what conversation just took place.

"I'm sorry my friend… I know how you feel and there is something we can do about it. I will tell you all about it in due time." Edgar remained there with Locke who couldn't help but cry long into the night.

----------

"Oh Rachel…" Locke bowed his head standing bedside, watching over the love of his life resting what seemed as peaceful as ever. Locke had become really frail over the past couple of days, not having slept a wink and not being able to eat even the smallest of morsels. He was still no better than that sobbing mess on the Figaro floor a few days earlier, a complete shell of the care-free treasure hunter he was known for. He turned and looked at the old lunatic in the room with him, "You mean those herbs actually saved her?"

The old man burst out laughing, prancing around Locke like a child through a spring meadow. "Of course! The love of your life will sleep here like this forever! Kwa-ha-ha!"

Locke could only sob some more at the sound of what the old man was saying. "What if there were a way… to call her back!"

"If you could call her back," the man partially sang while dancing around the room, "she'd come back! Kwa-ha-ha-ha…"

"Rachel…" Locke sobbed again


	5. The Truth

"You're highness, Locke Cole is here to see you."

"Ah yes, send him in right away!" Edgar called looking over some kingdom tax forms. "Locke! I am so glad to see you again. It's been nearly two weeks!"

"Three weeks to be exact." The life and excitement in his friends voice was gone.

"You look terrible! When was the last time you ate something!" Locke could only shrug half-heartedly, although in truth he really didn't know when was the last time he ate. Edgar raced up to him, placing both his hands on Locke's shoulders, although the treasure hunter couldn't look him straight in the eyes. He bowed his head to avoid the king's glare. "Look… I'm sorry about what happened. I want to do anything I can to help. That is why I sent the herbalist. I wanted to save Rachel for your sake."

"Why did you let them do this!" Locke finally whispered under his sobs. "How can you keep friendly ties with that nation of evil. That country of monsters."

"Locke! Please don't think I would have let this go on unopposed if I had known what the Empire was planning. If they were after a criminal, I would have suggested sending in a small party to take him away without harming anyone. Please do not think that it is the Figaro way to send in armies for mindless massacres."

"You are in allegiance with the Empire and yet you did nothing!" Locke finally looked up, his extremely pale face starting to flare up again with the rage Edgar had seen when Locke first arrived with the dreadful news.

"What makes you think that I haven't done anything? Don't you dare make a connection between the ways of Figaro and the ways of the Empire! There is much I have to tell you."

----------

Night had fallen over Figaro, the bright beacon of light in an ocean of darkness from the barren desert. Locke sat on the highest ramparts of the castle gazing out into the nothingness while Edgar sat behind him, looking at his friend with concern. "Funny, this is the exact same spot I was when my brother left our kingdom for good. That was the night my father died. Sabin looked so very much like you do right now, I'm only praying that you aren't to leave me for good as well."

Locke didn't bother to turn to Edgar has he spoke, "Your father wasn't the victim of a crime against humanity that only this Empire of evil could commit."

"Don't be so sure of that my friend."

This perked Locke's interest. He turned to look at the king, "What do you mean? Figaro and the Empire have been allies since the days of your father. Everyone knows that! Why would Gestahl do anything to harm the good king Figaro."

"His death was no ill-timed virus," Edgar's voice became flat again, but unlike his normal flat tone to try and calm his company down, this time it became flat with a hint of anger behind it. "The Emperor poisoned him. My father didn't like the way Ghestal wanted to expand by force. Gestahl didn't like the way my father stood up to him, but he couldn't all out invade. That would be too devastating to both sides, so he assassinated my father figuring he could over power the two young princes that would be left. I knew I couldn't fight the Emperor, he and the Empire were too strong even for my father let alone me, so I kept the alliance and played dumb, but I'm waiting for my time."

Locke let out a slight gasp, speechless to what Edgar had just told him. "Why doesn't any one know this! This is a travesty!"

"Because I don't want anyone to know," now it was Edgar's turn to look away. He gazed out over the entire kingdom that was in his trust. "If the Emperor knew what I knew, he would not trust me and most certainly would not have allowed me to live and rule. Of this I am certain. So Figaro and the Empire remain allies on the surface, but behind the curtain I am doing everything I can to stop this evil."

"But how?"

"I have begun collaborating with a group known as the Returners who have emerged from the Doma area."

"I have heard of the Returners before, they seek to oust the Empire from what they perceive is world domination," Locke reeled off what he knew of the group. "But they are just minnows. What can they do against the shark that is the Empire?"

"They have been growing Locke, and with the Figaro funding that I have been slipping them under the table, they have been able to arm themselves and spread their cause. We now have informants in every major city, including Vector."

"Won't the Empire just find out about this little group when it gets big enough and squash it?"

"Not if it can't find us," Edgar finally broke out into a smile. "They've been trying to find our informants for months now without success. They have been trained so well, only us Returners can pick them out."

"Anti-imperialist revolutionaries spreading their message to the world? Sounds like they would stick out like a sore thumb in society."

"You failed to notice Arvis."

"Arvis?" Locke raised an eyebrow.

"Not only is he one of our top informants, he's also one of our best tailors." Locke looked surprised, while Edgar could only laugh slightly. "He was giving me my monthly report while measuring me before we were rudely interrupted by one of our newest recruits."

"Newest recruits? What the heck are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about you Locke. How does it feel to be working for the Returners?"

"Whoa… slow down there! Look, I hate the Empire but I am not a Returner. I was

nothing but a common criminal when I came back from South Figaro remember? Plus it was a matter of Figaro security. If anything I figured it was a group like the Returners who were the thieves in the first place, which is why I am still surprised you never called in the Empire."

Edgar laughed again, now returning his gaze back to his friend, "Oh it was a matter of Figaro security, but I never mentioned anything about the Returners or who were the thieves. My father had been working on plans to submerge Figaro castle into the sands, and hide it should and when war with the Empire broke out. My father knew we couldn't stand a chance, so using our supreme technology, he developed a way for us to move the entire castle below the surface and to move it under the mountains safely."

"Are you kidding me!" Locke burst out. "I've heard rumors of technology like that, but only a crazy man would ever believe it."

"Well consider yourself crazy because it can be done. The Empire always knew my father was up to something but never knew what. Those papers I sent you after were stolen by an Imperial spy. They are the blueprints to one of the main engines in the submerging process. Should the Empire have seen them, they would have been able to figure out what the engine was going to be used for and what we would have been up to. So now you see Locke, why those documents were so important, why no one could know about it, and why I couldn't call the Empire to help because it was the Empire that stole the blueprints themselves."

Locke couldn't believe what he was hearing. For the past couple of weeks he had been considering never to show his face at Figaro ever again, unable to visit a place so closely tied to the killers of Kohlingen. Instead he was now face to face with the man who could lead the force against that very Empire itself. "So again I'll ask, how does it feel to be working for the Returners?"

"Submerging and hiding is all fine and dandy," Locke finally got the words out, "but what can you do against the Empire? What can the Returners do? They are just this tiny unfit group."

"Our time will come, don't you fret," Edgar flashed his trademark smile. "In the meantime, I get my own measure of personal revenge in little bits. While I wait for the day we can do battle with Gestahl, I play my own practical jokes on him. Those soldiers at the royal ball…"

"No you didn't!" Locke looked at the king. "Not those poor fellows who got sick. You claimed they had sun poisoning!"

"Sun poisoning… soup poisoning… what's the difference?" A devilish grin crept over the kings lips. "That's just one of my many tricks. I figured it was only fair the way they killed my father."

Locke suddenly tensed up, his world spinning around him. He struggled to try and get the words out, but with some forcing, they finally came. "Is that why you sent the herbalist to try and save Rachel? Was this another one of your acts of revenge? Is that all she was?"

"No Locke…" Edgar's voice flattened out again in the dramatic tone. "Seeing you on the floor before me in tears, I realized why you have a heart of gold. I seek the world for women and a love that never in my wildest dreams will ever come half way close to the love you and Rachel had. And all this I could tell simply by the man who sobbed before me. I wanted to save Rachel not as revenge to Gestahl, I wanted to save Rachel for one of the kindest men this world will ever know. I'm only sorry we couldn't bring her back." Locke hung his head, thinking about his love lying on that bed, forever to be lying there, never again to wake up, never able to hear him say how beautiful she is, and never to tell him how much she loves him. "This world is a wild and magical place my friend. I'm sure somewhere out there, there is something that can revive her, something that only the world's most premier treasure hunter could find."

This time Locke was able to keep his emotions in check, except for a single tear that escape his eye and left its trail of moisture down his face. "Thank you Edgar. I will do whatever it takes to bring Rachel back. And for starters, I have to bring her murderers to justice."

"So you're a Returner?" Edgar questioned.

"You can count on me!"

"Trusting you was never an issue my friend."


End file.
